Billy Gilmour becomes Napoli villain for San Siro sin but 'master' McTominay freezes Inter with the unbelievable
It was mixed reviews for Napoli's Tartan duo after their 1-1 draw with Inter
There were mixed reviews in Italy for Napoli's Scottish foot soldiers - while Billy Gilmour was being lampooned for a big mistake against Inter, Scott McTominay was crowned the MASTER of San Siro.
Napoli held onto top spot in Serie A with a 1-1 draw at Italy's most famous stadium and McTominay was on target in the first half with his third goal in ten games, underlying his credentials as the new fan favourite in Naples. But the scenes of celebration were spoiled just before half-time when Hakan Calhanoglu curled in a screamer from range, a goal which ultimately ensured the points were shared.
It was a brilliant strike, but a preventable one as far as the Italian press are concerned. They singled out Gilmour for leaving him with too much space to pick his spot, and felt the keeper could have done better. Both fairly harsh criticisms considering the quality of the strike, it has to be said, and they went even further on Gilmour for what they saw as a 'colourless' performance.
One outlet reads: "The responsibilities are shared between Gilmour, who did not close the gap on the Turk, and Meret, who did not push as hard as he could have. Another colourless performance after Atalanta. He has to act on Calha's turf, but he can't limit him. He leaves him metres of space on the goal and pays the price."
As for McTominay, the mood music is drastically different. 'McTotally' as he is now nicknamed in Italy, got the important goal early on, instinctively arriving in the box at the right time to force home a rebound, as we've seen him do for Scotland time and time again.
After that, it was a quiet game by his own standards, but Gazzetta dello Sport were impressed nonetheless. They said: "Not only is it unthinkable that Scott could be left out, but also that he won't leave his mark as only great champions can do." They go on to add that he 'froze' San Siro with one 'two-step touch that burned Dumfries and Sommer,' adding that he 'felt like a master even as a guest' in the iconic stadium. And their piece finishes with this glowing assessment - Whatever Scott touches, turns into gold.
After an impressive start to life in Italy, McTominay and Gilmour are now homeward bound for a Nations League clash with Croatia on Friday and both look like nailed-on starters for Steve Clarke. And then it's off to Poland next Monday to wrap up our, erm, mixed first experience in League A. After four defeats in five, we could really do with a bit of that gold Gazzetta are talking about.